Dropkicks? Shouldn’t we make it easier for people to vote? – Editorial

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour speaking to media. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Editorial

THE FACTS

• Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced proposed changes to electoral laws, stopping same-day enrolment for voters.
• The change aims to reduce the strain of counting special votes, which have increased significantly.
• Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour described people who enrol on election day as “dropkicks”.

One thing we can agree on in this great country is that we all have the opportunity to vote in our democracy.

And every right-minded member of society would also likely say we should find ways to make it easier for people to exercise this right.

But the Government, despite official advice warning of serious consequences for turnout, has decided to restrict that opportunity for people.

This week, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced what he described as a “significant, but necessary change” to New Zealand’s electoral laws.

He said this will address “strain on the system”.

The most controversial of these changes is stopping same-day enrolment for voters in a general election.

Same-day enrolments are counted as special votes, which can take about 10 times longer to count than ordinary votes.

Special votes have become more common in recent elections and a Regulatory Impact Statement from the Ministry of Justice said there had been an explosion as more people enrolled or updated their details on the day they voted.

There were about 300,000 to 350,000 same-day special votes cast at the last election.

The total number of special votes was 602,000, or about 20.9% of all ticks made. The Electoral Commission forecasts this will rise to 739,000 special votes in the 2026 election.

So, to ensure the final results for our election don’t take too long, the ability to enrol to vote will stop 13 days before election day.

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour said anyone who can’t get their A into G in time was a “dropkick”.

“I’m a bit sick of dropkicks who can’t get their lives organised to follow the law, which registering to vote is a legal requirement. Then going and voting to tax away hard-working people’s money and have people that make laws that restrict their freedoms.”

After his somewhat partisan comment, Seymour went on tell reporters, “If you can’t be bothered doing that, maybe you don’t care so much.”

But it is obvious these people – hundreds of thousands of Kiwis – do care. They care enough about our democracy and the future of this country to go to a polling station on election day, register and vote.

The Act leader also said people are fighting around the world for the chance to vote in a democracy. This is true, but the irony appeared totally lost on Seymour as he argued about the merits of a law that would restrict the opportunity for people to do just that.

This country loves a battler and treating thousands of everyday New Zealanders with disdain rarely returns a positive result. Seymour might be well served to dropkick his descriptor quickly, or the battlers may dropkick him at the polls.

Along with concerns about turnout, the Electoral Commission advised that special votes are more likely to come from areas with high Asian, Māori and Pacific communities.

Younger people are also more likely to cast special votes – particularly first-time voters.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins called the proposed changes “draconian”. That is hyperbole. But he is right that it’s anti-democratic.

Perhaps any law that restricts a person’s opportunity to vote should require a supermajority in Parliament? This might also stop the ridiculous see-sawing we see every government cycle around prisoner voting.

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